History of former groups and branches: (a) History of the activities of the Maternal and ChildHealth Group of the Society of Community Medicine

Abstract

The Maternal and Child Health Group was created to promote the exchange of ideas amongst those engaged in this sphere of medicine, to maintain co-operation with other branches of preventive medicine, to arrange meetings in London and other parts of the country, to extend interest in maternal and child health by the formation of sub-groups and to promote the interests of all doctors concerned with this work. The aims of the Society itself in advancing education were also to be realized by the organization of lectures, study days, postgraduate weekends and courses and links maintained with other professional bodies such as the British Medical Association and the British Paediatric Association. The group has also represented the Society on a number of outside bodies, consistently submitting comments to Government bodies, committees and working parties. In 1856 the Metropolitan Association of Medical Officers was founded, this becoming the Association of Medical Officers of Health in 1869 and the Society of Medical Officers of Health in 1873. The affairs of the Society were relatively uneventful until activities began to increase in 1906. The new constitution in 1919 allowed the formation of functional groups of doctors, and, in 1922, the Maternal and Child Welfare Group was established. There was considerable re-orientation following the war years and the group formulated a scheme for the conduct of child welfare centres. Subject matter and details of the work which has been undertaken over the years, together with that of other Groups, are part of the Society's records and will be held at some central point. Because of this they will not be itemized in chronological order in this short history which deals with the most important of them from about 1948. It is interesting that, at this time and during the early 1950s, the executive committee, on behalf of the group, was considering the training of health visitors and district nurses and their relationship with general practitioners and was also very concerned with the scope of the work in child welfare clinics, so called at that time, progressing to an analysis of the actual work carried out. The group also represented the Society on the organizing committee on the Survey of Child Development and also on the following bodies: the General Council of the National Association of Maternal and Child Welfare and the British Council for the Care of Spastics. Nineteen hundred and fifty-six was memorable as being the centenary year of the foundation of the Society of Medical Officers of Health, and various subjects were under consideration during the rest of the fifties. The following must be cited: the use of day nurseries;